A Twisted Sense of Altruism
by Tokyo-Milk
Summary: When Izaya finds Roppi in the snowy streets of Sapporo, he takes the boy home, curious as to why they look almost identical. As Roppi recovers under Izaya's care, he starts meeting with Shizuo, causing anger and jealousy to continuously torture Izaya. NOTE: Dropped story.
1. Prologue

**Title:** A Twisted Sense of Altruism  
><strong>Rating: <strong>M  
><strong>Pairing:<strong> Shizuo x Izaya, Izaya x Psyche  
><strong>Prompt (DRRR!Kinkmeme): <strong>Abused!Roppi is found by Izaya who takes him home and cares for him. When Roppi starts meeting with Shizuo, angst, drama and fluff will follow.  
><strong>Disclaimer: <strong>Don't own Durarara! or the characters ^^''

**AN:** Hello~ This is gonna be a long fic xD Just letting people know that I'm still setting up part of the story in my head o3o I am not a terribly fast updater, but updates will come xD Prepare for much angst, because I love angst 3 Happy ending? We will see :3 Please review~

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><p>"What are you doing?"<p>

A snowflake melted on the tip of his nose as the brunet squatted down next to the smaller boy. The boy's body was slouched over, eyes shielded from the falling snow by dark-colored hair, matted underneath his fur-trimmed coat.

"Hello? Can you hear me?"

With no response, the brunet assumed the boy was either asleep or dead. He slowly reached his hand forward, resting it on the motionless boy's shoulder. As soon as his hand made contact, the other twitched and threw his head back, violently smacking the brunet's hand away as he pressed his back into the dirty wall behind him, eyes wide with fear.

Many people hurried by, ignoring the two seated on the cold pavement, with minds focused on their own business. It was a busy winter day; everyone had a destination… Everyone except for the boy, seated on the snowy pavement, clothes soaked through with water, and eyes numbed by the cold.

With the boy's face revealed, the man felt his eyes grow wider, mouth agape at the peculiar sight. As though he had been gazing into a mirror, everything about the boy appeared identical to him, aside from the red trim on the jacket and the fear that seeped out from the other's crimson eyes. Unsure of how to proceed, the man stood in silence until it properly registered in his mind that he was looking at someone with his exact face.

Immediately, he began digging through possible explanations for the situation. Whether or not the boy was a clone, or perhaps even a doppelganger… there was no way to tell. The other's eyes had gradually changed from fear to a more defensive look, squinting as they scrutinized the taller man.

"My name is Izaya," the man muttered. "Who are you?"

After another long silence, Izaya felt himself quickly losing interest. He was unwilling to waste his curiosity on someone who lacked the proper dignity to speak to him. Cocking his head to the side, he returned the other's icy glare. The boy was clearly younger than him by several years, but besides that, it was frightening how closely they resembled one another.

"Do you understand what I'm saying?"

His eyes remained glued on the man, lips tightly shut. Perhaps the boy spoke a different language, or didn't speak at all. Izaya sighed. He had probably run away from home, unless he didn't have one… There were bruises and scabs that had just begun to heal littered across his face, which was as pale as the snow that surrounded his frail body.

"Do you want to come with me?"

With an outstretched palm, Izaya watched the boy expectantly. Though, it wasn't really like him to save someone on the verge of death, he desperately wanted to know why this boy looked exactly like him, aware of the variety of annoyances he could be creating for himself by taking him home. Izaya's curiosity had always been the biggest cause for problems in his life, but in his mind, the suffering was all worth it whenever his curiosity was finally satisfied.

Still pressed against the wall, the boy hopelessly stared into eyes that shone with the same scarlet tint as his own, searching Izaya for any sign of malice. His expression showed hesitation and distrust, but with nothing else to depend on, the boy slowly reached out to take the man's cold hand.

"A good decision," Izaya smirked, pulling the boy onto his feet and catching him as he stumbled.

On the way to the hotel, the weak boy continuously tripped, walking with such clumsy movements that Izaya ended up offering his shoulder in support, annoyed at their slow pace. It was late in the afternoon, but the sky had kept the same gray color throughout the day, with falling snow constantly adding more to the thick layer already on the ground.

When he had left his room at dawn, Izaya had expected to go through a day no different from any other as the self-proclaimed greatest information broker in Japan. He had planned on attending an important meeting regarding the smuggling of a new, dangerous drug, and concluding his day with a trip to an expensive sushi restaurant, but his temptation to speak with what he thought was a boy who had run away from home caught him before dinner.

As they walked awkwardly through the busy streets, Izaya briefly considered taking the boy out to eat with him, but changed his mind when he glanced down to see an expression of fear on his dirty face. The boy was probably regretting accepting his hand, or in pain from moving around in such a sickly state…. It would have helped if he had bothered to speak to Izaya, but he appeared completely unwilling to utter even a grunt when the other asked him questions.

"Could you at least tell me your name?" Izaya pressed. When yet more silence followed, he gave up, cursing impatiently under his breath as they headed towards the gleaming lights of the hotel.


	2. Chapter I

**Title:** A Twisted Sense of Altruism  
><strong>Rating: <strong>M  
><strong>Pairing:<strong> Shizuo x Izaya, Izaya x Psyche  
><strong>Prompt (DRRR!Kinkmeme): <strong>Abused!Roppi is found by Izaya who takes him home and cares for him. When Roppi starts meeting with Shizuo, angst, drama and fluff will follow.  
><strong>Disclaimer: <strong>Don't own Durarara! or the characters ^^''

**AN:** Hello again~ I am going to apologize in advance for this story's slow pace. Sorry! -bows- I hope that readers will enjoy this story as much as I enjoy writing it :'D Please review~ I would love to learn to be a better writer with your help! xD

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><p>"Yeah, he looks about fourteen… No he won't tell me… I just told you he won't talk, so how would I know!"<p>

Tapping his fingers against the wooden desk's surface in irritation, Izaya leaned back in his chair, sighing into the phone.

"Shinra, I'm coming back tomorrow, so there better be room in your schedule when I bring him over!" His increasingly loud voice caused the boy to flinch and hug his legs closer as he sat stiffly on the hotel bed behind Izaya. The informant hissed an irritated goodbye to his doctor and flipped his cell phone shut, watching the boy's interesting behavior from the corner of his eye.

"Do you understand me when I speak?" He asked the same question again as he made his way over to the bed and kneeled down in front of the nervous boy. "If you don't want to talk, you could just nod 'yes' or shake your head 'no' so I know you at least understand what I'm saying," Izaya gave his own example head nods and head shakes to make what he wanted from the other a bit clearer.

However, the boy continued to stare at his feet, shifting uncomfortably in his wet clothes when Izaya realized he had forgotten that the other had been bathing in snow for a number of days. Standing up, he walked over to his suitcase and pulled out another set of the same clothes he wore today, along with a pair of boxers.

"Change out of those wet clothes," Izaya muttered, holding out the neatly folded clothes in front of the boy's face. Glancing up, he stared blankly at the pile in Izaya's hands as though he had just offered him a five-eyed cat. When he finally reached forward, Izaya dropped the clothing into the boy's small hands, but the boy continued to glare at it.

The man's interest was sparked by this odd behavior. How was this boy raised? How old was he actually? Could he have been kept in a single room for five… ten years? He felt a familiar thrilling feeling of adrenaline creep over him. There was so much to find out about this strange boy. However, knowing that many of his questions would likely be answered the following day, Izaya kept his curiosity under control.

"Do you recognize what is in your hand?" Izaya asked calmly, quickly adding, "If you don't want to speak, then nod or shake your head."

The boy's eyes wandered from the pile and moved to meet Izaya's as his head slowly began to rotate from side to side. Izaya gave a slight smile, satisfied knowing that his words were heard and motioned for the boy to get up, taking the clothes from his hands.

"Stand up. I'll help you get changed."

Shakily, the other pushed his body off the edge of the bed and stood up, his eyes level with Izaya's collarbone.

"Do this," he said, motioning upwards with his head as the younger boy slowly raised his arms. The boy appeared to become more nervous when Izaya took a step forward. He shifted uncomfortably as the taller man reached for the collar of his jacket and began pulling it off. Izaya was stunned at how similar the jacket was to the one he had on now, and once he had pulled it off and glanced at the tag on the back, he noticed it was the same brand.

'_Coincidences can only go so far… Someone was definitely trying to make this kid look like me…'_

He tossed the jacket in the direction of the bathroom door, then reached down to the bottom of the boy's V-neck, working his fingers into the top of his black pants to untuck it.

There didn't appear to be any problems until Izaya decided to shoot a glance down at the other's face, only to see pure horror in his eyes. Seeing such an intense emotion in the boy's expression caused Izaya to flinch, letting go of the wet shirt. He stared curiously, wondering if he should bother continuing or not.

"Are you okay?"

Although Izaya's voice came out as a cold monotone, the boy's expression softened at the concerned words uttered from the taller man. Izaya didn't really care much about the boy's fear, but he desperately wanted to find out why he reacted as such when his clothes were removed.

_'Maybe he was raped?'_

Izaya pondered the thought as he unbuckled the other's pants, allowing them to fall heavily to the carpet.

_'Not too uncommon nowadays…'_

He ignored the boy's still nervous expression and pulled his boxers down, telling him to step out of the circle of wet clothes at his feet.

"Do you know how to take a shower?" Izaya asked. When the boy shook his head, Izaya clicked his tongue and walked past the other.

"Follow me."

The boy nervously entered the bathroom, completely nude as he stood in the doorway watching Izaya hang the wet clothes on the towel racks. As he turned the knob on the bath, Izaya wondered if he should really be leaving such a mentally troubled boy alone in the shower. He glanced back. The boy stared at him anxiously, exposed as he waited.

_'It would be problematic if he killed himself in my hotel bathroom…'_

Izaya sighed, beginning to feel slightly annoyed at the boy's constant nervousness. He quickly began throwing off his own clothes, ignoring any other fearful expressions from across the room.

"Come here," he said, sinking into the comforting warmth. The other moved forward hesitantly and copied Izaya, stepping the same foot into the water before sitting down directly in front of him.

_'Ugh, what a pain…' _Izaya silently complained as he reached to the side of the bath and grabbed the bar of hotel soap. He quickly dipped it in the water and brought it to the boy's back, causing him to flinch suddenly.

"It's just soap, see?" Izaya leaned forward impatiently, holding it to the side of the boy's face. "It'll get you clean."

Izaya began rubbing the soap on the boy's scarred back, moving it in a circular motion over all the bruises and cuts that covered him.

'_I wonder what he did to get this beat up…'_

Slightly annoyed at the thought of someone damaging another version of his exact body, Izaya began rubbing harder. The boy looked like a middle-school version of himself; the only difference being height. Same pale skin, same scarlet eyes, his skinny arms and legs… they were all the same. Taking out his irritation on the boy's back, a small whimper barely escaped his lips.

"Oh, so you aren't mute then!" he said, mock surprise coating his voice. The boy, however, didn't turn around, and instead brought his knees to his chest, allowing for more room in the small hotel bathtub.

"Turn around, please. I have to wash the front."

At first, the boy did not react. Izaya wondered if he had heard him. But after a short moment, the younger boy slowly turned to face him, eyes cast on his reflection floating on the water. Izaya began washing his chest, unsure of what was a bruise and what was just dirt.

"If you don't want to talk yet that's fine. But I would like you to at least show me a 'yes' or 'no' when I ask a question." Izaya leaned forward, running a finger through the boy's matted hair, only to grin when another fearful expression emerged on his pale face.

"Do you know where your parents are?"

The boy directed an unsure glance towards Izaya, who quickly rephrased the question. "Do you have parents? Or a parent? Someone who looked after you?"

Now re-worded, his question earned a slight nod from the boy. Encouraged, Izaya spoke again.

"Did you run away?"

With a bit of hesitation, the boy nodded again.

"I see."

For a while, the two sat in silence as Izaya washed away all the dried blood and grime on the boy's body. He then reached for his shampoo and squirting some onto his palms, rubbed it into the boy's hair. He seemed to be calming down some, but still appeared edgy, continuously flinching at any sudden movements from Izaya.

After scrubbing his own expensive, top-quality conditioner into the boy's hair, Izaya rinsed him off and quickly unplugged the drain.

"Get out of the bath. I'll dry you off and you can put on the clean clothes I left on the bed while I finish showering."

The boy did what he was told much faster this time, climbing out of the bathtub and walking in front of Izaya. The man reached out and roughly rubbed a towel against the boy's skin, then dried his hair. When he finished, Izaya tossed the towel away and turned back to wash himself before noticing he hadn't moved.

"…You can just stay there if you want, I suppose. Or you can go sit on the bed."

The boy continued to stand where he was, watching Izaya as he brought the bar of soap across his chest. Ignoring how creepy it was to have someone watch him showering, he pretended the boy wasn't there and forced himself to take a much faster shower than his usual forty-minute one. As soon as he had rinsed off the soap, Izaya hopped out and grabbed the other towel resting on the sink. Quickly drying off, he strolled off into the bedroom with the towel wrapped tightly around his hips.

"Okay, let's get some clothes on you…"

Izaya went to pick up the pile he had left on the bed, but first glanced at the time on his phone. It was seven o'clock.

_'I'll get him some sleep wear instead…' _Izaya told himself as he wondered over to his suitcase.

"It's a good thing I always pack extra clothing… Here." He motioned the boy over.

The boy watched him, expressionless as Izaya pulled his clothes onto the smaller version of himself.

_'It's like dressing up a doll… Made to look exactly like you…' _The thought brought a chuckle to his lips.


	3. Chapter II : SHORT

**Title:** A Twisted Sense of Altruism  
><strong>Rating: <strong>M  
><strong>Pairing:<strong> Shizuo x Izaya, Izaya x Psyche  
><strong>Prompt (DRRR!Kinkmeme): <strong>Abused!Roppi is found by Izaya who takes him home and cares for him. When Roppi starts meeting with Shizuo, angst, drama and fluff will follow.  
><strong>Disclaimer: <strong>Don't own Durarara! or the characters ^^''

**AN:** Chapter 2 is a short .-. Sorry it's so tiny xD More on the way soon~

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><p>"I'm going to go get some food. I'll be right back. You probably haven't eaten in a while…" Izaya said, distracted as he hurriedly tapped a message into his cell phone. "You'll be fine by yourself. The door locks automatically, and I'll be back within an hour."<p>

The boy's face tensed. He was clearly uncomfortable with the other leaving but didn't seem to want to say so. Izaya noticed this, but didn't feel like complying. He was hungry and he had promised himself fatty tuna tonight. With a quick 'good-bye,' he grabbed his wallet, his room key, and strolled out of the room, shutting the door behind him.

When he returned an hour later, Izaya found the boy sitting in the exact same place he had been when he left the room.

"Have you been sitting in that spot since I left?" Izaya asked.

The boy nodded calmly, followed by a sigh from the taller man.

_'This kid's insane… So weird, so weird…'_

As promised, Izaya brought back food from the sushi restaurant he had been eyeing since he passed it on his way back from the airport the previous day. Plopping down on the bed, he reached into the bag and pulled out the packaged sushi, opening it up to enjoy the delicious scent that wafted through the room. He had made sure to buy as many different kinds as he could, curious as to which one the boy would pick, and as he opened each box, he realized he had probably bought far too much.

When all the five boxes of sushi were open and spread out on the bed, Izaya asked the boy to pick one. At first, a look of confusion appeared on the boy's face, but Izaya impatiently repeated the question, adding hand motions to help the boy understand. Finally, the boy hesitantly pointed to a kappamaki roll. Izaya watched with interest, but the boy didn't pick it up, he simply continued to point at the cheapest and most simple of all the sushi purchased.

"Go on, take it," Izaya stared at the boy, motioning with his finger. When the boy finally reached for it, he brought it in front of Izaya's mouth and held it there instead. Izaya's eyes were filled with amusement at the boy's strangeness. He quickly snatched the kappamaki from his hand and brought it to the boy's mouth, forcefully pressing it against his lips until he allowed them to part slightly. Izaya then proceeded to shove it into his mouth with a playful smile, satisfied when the boy allowed himself to be fed.

_'It's like I just got a new dog~' _the informant smirked.


	4. Chapter III

**Title:** A Twisted Sense of Altruism  
><strong>Rating: <strong>M  
><strong>Pairing:<strong> Shizuo x Izaya, Izaya x Psyche  
><strong>Prompt (DRRR!Kinkmeme): <strong>Abused!Roppi is found by Izaya who takes him home and cares for him. When Roppi starts meeting with Shizuo, angst, drama and fluff will follow.  
><strong>Disclaimer: <strong>Don't own Durarara! or the characters ^^''

**AN:** Sorry it's been a while since my last update xD I've actually had this part written for over a month... I just never got around to editing it... -looks away nervously- 8l anyway at least some stuff progresses yup yup~ please leave a review: it's super encouraging XD

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><p>"Are you done now, Shinra?"<p>

Izaya crinkled his nose at the annoying hospital smell. Even in a private doctor's house, the stench of rubbing alcohol and medical equipment wafted through the cold air, leaving him with a familiar and unwanted feeling of discomfort.

"Yeah… He's a normal human being. No mechanical parts or anything… Unless my eyes are playing tricks on me…" the doctor leaned against the doorway, eyes wondering restlessly around the room as he spoke to his high school friend.

"Go on…" Izaya urged.

"Well, his body's a little… weird… I'm not really sure what to make of it…"

"Clarify please?"

Shinra bit his lip and scowled. "…Well, after doing some x-rays, I found out some of his organs are shaped oddly… They seem to be somewhat unnatural looking, actually… It's as though someone shoved a liquid form into a mold and let it dry… They look artificial. But it seems they work just fine."

The informant was silent for a moment, staring thoughtfully at his intertwined fingers before pressing on. "And what about the other things I asked you to check?"

The doctor sighed. "His pulse is regular, he hasn't contracted any strange diseases, his appearance is completely natural as far as I can tell, and his blood type is O."

_'My blood type,' _Izaya noted silently. With a groan, he stood up and lessened the distance between him and the other man. "What about the other thing I asked you to check?"

Shinra's casual expression quickly fell. "Yeah, I think you were probably right about that. He was pretty torn up inside… Though it's been a while since it happened and the tissue is healing fine, without infection."

"I see." Izaya continued, tapping his foot impatiently. "So regarding those artificial looking organs… Do you think he could be a clone?"

The doctor's cast his gaze to the floor, eyes narrowed. "I have no idea. But I'd be careful with that boy... He's both physically and emotionally damaged… It was hard to get him to stop struggling for the checkup; I had to sedate him."

"Yeah," Izaya muttered, eyes shifting impatiently to the closed door within which his lookalike was resting. "Can I take him now? If he doesn't turn out to be useful I can just make him my slave." With a brazen grin, Izaya spun around gracefully and wondered into the checkup room. The small boy lay passed out peacefully on the bed, his bruised chest slowly rising and falling with ease.

"Be careful taking him home. You'll need to carry him… He won't wake up for a few hours, if not until tomorrow." Shinra waltzed into the room with a confident smile, clearly amused at the image of Izaya with an adolescent boy on his shoulders.

Clicking his tongue in annoyance, Izaya carefully lifted the boy onto his back before heading to the door. "Oh, Shinra, how old is he?" He stopped for a second at the doorframe and turned curiously toward his friend when he didn't catch a reply.

"Sorry, I didn't hear you. Repeat that please?"

"…I don't know…"

"…Eh?"

"I've got no idea," Shinra repeated with a frown.

"Clearly you are a very skilled doctor." With a sigh, Izaya turned and started out the door. If Shinra found it entertaining to toy with him, he wouldn't need to waste another minute in his apartment.

"No wait! Izaya, I'm serious! I can't seem to find any promising evidence since his body structure is so strange... Though, looking at his face and height, he appears to be about fifteen…" Although Shinra's voice trailed off, Izaya's attention had been caught.

"Hn…? Interesting." Without a word more, Izaya hurried out of the apartment, mind racing.

"Call me if he speaks to you!" Shinra shouted after him, undisguised excitement filling his voice. It was obvious that the doctor wanted nothing more at this point than to lock the boy up and experiment on every bone in his body, but Izaya wouldn't allow that.

'_Not until I proceed with my own experiments…'_

It was thrilling- the uncertainty he felt. For once Izaya truly had no idea what to expect.

When they reached his apartment, Izaya found his assistant, working diligently at her computer. The last couple days had been distracting enough that he had completely forgotten she was to come over today, but instead of questioning her presence, he greeted her with a playful smile. "Hi there, Namie-san. Isn't the weather beautiful today?"

"Shut up. Your annoying, and I'm working." Her voice was nauseating enough to make Izaya want to throw up the little amount of food he had eaten today.

Trying to get the nervous boy to leave the hotel room early enough so that they could eat before the plane arrived did not happen. It hadn't been easy to get a ticket for the seat right next to him on the day before the flight either. He had been putting in quite a lot of effort for this one boy and the thought made him feel even more noxious.

"So cold, Namie-san." Izaya covered his eyes sarcastically with his palm. "Are you sure you are actually working? Or maybe you are just looking at naked pictures of your brother and don't want to be disturbed?"

"Shut up, asshole!" Namie spat. She briefly glanced up from her computer screen to properly deliver her next insult but hesitated when she noticed a small boy resting peacefully on her boss' back. "So you finally decided to go out and kidnap children, I see. It's about time you became more honest with yourself." She smirked, satisfied as she leaned back in her chair with her arms proudly crossed.

"Well now, don't you know me far too well, my dearest Namie-san! I was actually just heading upstairs to sexually assault this sleeping child whose face looks _exactly like mine_!"

At this comment, Namie cut her smile short and stood up to get a better look at the boy. "…Is that a clone? Or a brat with a face lift?"

Izaya didn't feel like answering. He, himself didn't really know and he was aware that he wouldn't have much of a chance at finding out anything until the child woke up.

At her boss' silence, she cocked her head back and the all-too-common smirk returned. "I doubt that's a human being. There's no way that any god would ever create another person with your hideous face… Unless he was a sadist who loved to watch people's lives ruined... Just like you!" A plastic smile announced her satisfaction at what she assumed was a clever insult, and without another word, she carried her cold eyes back to her computer screen and continued to tap away at the keyboard.

Gladly ignoring his regularly impolite employee, Izaya quietly wondered off to his bedroom feeling the boy's sleeping body bounce lightly with each step he took.

Sighing, he grabbed the handle and turned, pushing the door open with his shoulder as he walked inside. The room was dark, despite it being only midday which should have been made clear by the large balcony to the left of his bed. However, Izaya kept dark curtains tightly drawn at all times. He found sunlight to be annoying and distracting. The only time he bothered to open them was during the night when the city lights illuminated the streets of Shinjuku, giving off a radiance that had always set his heart at ease.

A bit more satisfied than before, with the sweet memory of one of his favorite feelings in mind, Izaya pulled his blankets back and set the boy down on his bed. With a little luck, he wouldn't wake up until Namie left… It would be even better if he woke up the next day so that Izaya could relax for a while. The strange boy was now tucked into bed and Izaya was finally granted time to return to his work.


	5. Chapter IV

**Title:** A Twisted Sense of Altruism  
><strong>Rating: <strong>M  
><strong>Pairing:<strong> Shizuo x Izaya, Izaya x Psyche  
><strong>Prompt (DRRR!Kinkmeme): <strong>Abused!Roppi is found by Izaya who takes him home and cares for him. When Roppi starts meeting with Shizuo, angst, drama and fluff will follow.  
><strong>Disclaimer: <strong>Don't own Durarara! or the characters ^^''

**AN: **Meow meow meow~ New chapter is here 8l Sorry it's a bit short (all my chapters are different sizes wtf) 8l I have been working on a new fic too and that will be up soon~ Enjoy the story 8D I would love to hear from you 3

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><p>The rest of the day carried on with ease. Izaya did not exchange more than a few words with his secretary, except for when he demanded she make him tea on three different occasions. To his relief, the boy was lying fast asleep each time he checked on him. It wasn't until a few hours after sunset as he was just finishing up his work for the night that a piercing scream emanated from the bedroom. The chair Izaya sat in violently toppled over as he stood up and ran for the door, hurriedly digging for the key in his back pocket.<p>

With a loud click, the door unlocked and Izaya shoved it open, peering inside as he prepared for the worst.

The young boy was alone, and curled up on the bed, blankets and pillows scattered across the room, with tears streaming down his face like waterfalls.

'_Ahh… Should have known…'_

Slightly disappointed, Izaya slowly approached the sobbing child, ignoring the urge to cover his ears at the annoying cries. He carefully placed a hand on the other's head hoping that a bit of comfort would settle him down, but the boy was not calmed in the slightest. His eyes widened, and he began screaming and kicking like a toddler having a fit.

"Hey… For a guest, it is pretty impolite to be making so much noise, don't you think?" Regardless of whether he was heard or not, Izaya carried on, feeling his patience fight a losing battle against the boy's obnoxious cries. "Stop."

When he snatched the boy's wrist and forcefully pulled him up from the bed, the boy became almost hysterical, screaming loud enough that Izaya was sure the neighbors could hear him. As his temper finally snapped, the informant suddenly smacked the boy across the face, leaving a bright red mark on his cheek as he choked on his cries. The boy's eyes were wide, as though waiting for a following, more terrible act to occur, but Izaya simply let his wrist go and he fell back onto the bed, the only sound in the room being the sound of his breath hitching each time he took a breath.

"Are you calm now?" Izaya frowned. He didn't want to be a babysitter. And if he had to be, he would do a terrible job, as he did with his sisters who turned out as bizarre as he. Once the mess began to bother him enough, Izaya stood up from the bed and began picking up pillows and blankets, and setting the boy up so that he was properly comfortable in his bed.

"Are you ready to talk to me yet?" Izaya masked his annoyance with a concerned gaze as he stared at the boy, waiting for an answer. Trying to be patient until the boy finally shook his head, 'no.'

"And I suppose you won't be willing to tell me your name either?" Izaya scowled, preparing to leave the room.

"…chi..en..ppi…"

The informant stopped, quickly turning around before re-approaching him. "What? What was that? I couldn't hear you."

"Ha…chimen…roppi.." the small voice was barely audible, but Izaya, who practically had his ear pressed against the boy's lips, listened closely.

"Your name is Hachimenroppi?"

The boy bit his lip and frowned, as though a feeling of regret had just taken him over after finally speaking.

"Hachimenroppi… Like… Useful?"

The boy nodded slowly once more.

"I see. So you are useful then. That's good. I like useful people. Hachimenroppi… Too long. We'll shorten it to Roppi."

The boy nodded again.

Izaya smiled, face devoid of any real emotion as he continued to speak, "Well then, Roppi, I hope you'll prove yourself as useful as your name states! Your first test is to start speaking to me. Come to the front room when you think you are ready to start talking. After you decide to talk to me, you can have dinner."

Roppi smiled weakly as Izaya found himself significantly amused. He could tell the boy was far too trusting, making him an exceptionally good tool. But at the moment, the thing he needed most from Roppi was to ease his own curiosity about the child's unknown history.

"So are you ready to talk yet, or would you like to starve for a while?" he smiled.

"…Ready…"

"Follow me then, Roppi."

Once he had helped him from the bed, Izaya led him to the living room, motioning for the boy to sit on the couch beside him.

"Well then… Let's begin."


End file.
